


For the First Time In Forever

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Series: Belle/Elsa verse [2]
Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Disney Princesses, Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, College AU, F/F, Femslash, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 19:09:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3458552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Belle's encouragement, Elsa tells Anna about her powers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For the First Time In Forever

**For the First Time In Forever**

Elsa wasn’t exactly sure how she’d ended up with such a wonderful girlfriend as Belle.

They’d been penpals for weeks, and Elsa had found herself pouring her heart out about all the little things, unused to being able to talk to anyone about anything in her life. But Belle was kind, and witty, and seemed interested in everything Elsa wrote – and it had been such a long, long time since Elsa had anyone in her life that even before she met Belle, she found herself developing a sincere affection for her penpal. Then Elsa had met Belle at a party, and been instantly smitten – besides everything else, Belle was beautiful, with big brown eyes full of friendly warmth, and a lovely smile. When Belle had asked why Elsa was so afraid of dealing with people Elsa had taken a leap of faith, and shown Belle her curse.

Later she wondered what had prompted her to do so, after keeping it hidden for so many years; in the end, Elsa concluded that it was a combination of things, from her loneliness to the fondness she already felt for Belle, and the understanding look in Belle’s eyes. After so many years of isolation, Elsa desperately wanted to reach out to someone who would understand.

When Belle had kissed her – _touched_ her – without being harmed by Elsa’s powers, it felt like some kind of miracle. For years, Elsa had been so _afraid_ – and now, here was someone who not only understood, but who Elsa could touch without a problem. With Belle’s presence and touch, the ever-present ache in Elsa’s heart began to dull, and for the first time since she was a little girl, Elsa felt encouraged enough to begin interacting more with others.

It was awkward, and difficult – Elsa didn’t have a lot of people skills – but the more Elsa interacted with others without incident, the more confident she became.

“It isn’t easy, but it’s so much easier than it used to be,” Elsa told Belle, when the two of them were hanging out together in Elsa’s room. “For years, I spent so much time obsessing over my problem, and my parents were constantly reminding me with every look not to get to close to anyone. I couldn’t even talk to Anna without them separating us, and in the end, I stopped trying, convinced that it was better to stay away from her.”

Belle listened to Elsa with a frown, and Elsa knew without being told that Belle thought that was terrible. The knowledge that Belle cared so much about Elsa’s feelings warmed Elsa’s heart. She wondered if Belle was going to say something about her parents, and braced herself.

But what Belle said instead was: “Anna doesn’t know, does she?”

Elsa shook her head, remembering the terror and guilt she’d felt as a small child, seeing her sister lying prone in the hospital bed after the accident, and knowing, even then, that her parents blamed her for it.

“She didn’t remember a lot of things after she came out of the coma,” Elsa said sombrely. “And after that, I didn’t go near Anna much.”

Belle nudged her, her expression serious.

“You should tell her,” Belle said.

“Perhaps,” Elsa said, making no promises. Belle let the subject drop, and they began to talk of other things.

But Elsa didn’t forget Belle’s advice, and thought about it many times over the weeks that followed.

It had been a long time since Elsa had let Anna into her life willingly, terrified of hurting her sister again. But Elsa was beginning to realise that she was hurting Anna in other ways with her refusal to interact with her. Again and again this semester Anna had sought Elsa out and tried to strike up a conversation, to hang out the way that most siblings did, only to walk away with a wounded expression when Elsa shut the conversation down.

Taking a deep breath, Elsa pulled out her phone and dialled the number of Anna’s cell.

After a couple of rings, Anna picked up.

“ _Elsa?”_ She sounded startled and suspicious, and the suspicion hurt Elsa’s heart. “ _Why are you calling me?”_

Elsa swallowed.

“I was wondering if you wanted to visit,” she said, trying not to let her nervousness come across in her voice. “There’s something I want to tell you.”

There was a pause on Anna’s end.

“ _You’re asking me over?”_ Anna sounded astonished and confused. “ _Like, to your house?”_

“Yes,” Elsa replied.

“ _Well, okay. Sure!_ ” Anna still sounded confused, but she also sounded pleased. “ _I’ve got a class in twenty minutes, but I can stop by after that, no problem!_ ”

“Then I guess I’ll see you after class,” said Elsa.

“ _Cool!_ ” Anna’s tone was upbeat. “ _Later, Elsa!_ ” And she hung up.

Elsa went to put her phone down, and realised that her hands were shaking slightly. She aborted the movement, instead lifting her phone again, to type out a quick text.

_I’m going to tell Anna,_ she typed out, and hit send. She waited, hoping for an immediate reply, feeling on tenterhooks.

The response came within a couple of minutes.

_I’ll be right over._

Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on Elsa’s door, and she opened it to find herself looking into Belle’s concerned face.

Belle immediately took hold of Elsa’s gloved hands, squeezing gently.

“It’ll be fine,” she told Elsa.

“But what if it isn’t?” Elsa asked anxiously. “What if Anna hates me for keeping this secret from her? And what if I get close to her again and something bad happens?”

“First of all, I doubt Anna could ever hate you,” said Belle calmingly. Her eyes were understanding. “Not only is she the most forgiving person I’ve ever met, she also loves you. AS for your second question…” Belle sighed a little. “Elsa, bad things happen to people all the time. Sometimes they’re within our control, but usually they aren’t. You can’t live your entire life in fear of what might happen. You have to learn to take risks, because there’s risks involved in everything worth doing.”

“But I could hurt her,” Elsa persisted. “I could lose control of my powers and–”

“And it wouldn’t be your fault,” Belle interposed firmly. “No matter what your parents have told you, everyone loses control sometimes. No one can be perfect all of the time.”

“But what if I do hurt her?” Elsa asked in a small voice.

“You won’t,” Belle said reassuringly.

Elsa tried to breath deeply, to quell the frantic worry beating beneath her breastbone.

“Will you stay until Anna comes?” she asked.

“Of course I will,” Belle said with a smile. She took a seat on the end of Elsa’s bed, and watched as Elsa paced the room, back and forth, wringing her hands.

Elsa did her best to think calm thoughts. Belle was right. If anything was a risk worth taking, this was. Besides, Elsa hadn’t hurt Belle yet, which meant that Anna was probably safe, despite Elsa’s ingrained, reflexive fears.

Elsa had missed Anna enormously over the years, and had always regretted that she hadn’t had more of a presence in Anna’s life. Well, this was her chance to change that.

If only Anna didn’t reject her when she understood _why_ Elsa had never been there for her…

“Breathe,” Belle recommended. Elsa did so.

By the time that Anna arrived, Elsa was a bundle of nerves.

There was a knock on the door, and Anna’s voice said tentatively, “Elsa?”

“Come in,” Elsa said.

Anna flung the door open with a wide smile.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked Elsa.

Just then Belle returned from the kitchen, holding a half-full glass of water.

“Here’s the water you asked for,” she said, giving Elsa a supportive look.

“Can you put it on the desk, please?” Elsa asked, trying to keep her voice even. Belle shut the bedroom door behind her and placed the glass on Elsa’s desk, before retreating to her seat on Elsa’s bed.

“What’s going on?” Anna asked, sending them confused glances. “If this is about the fact that you two are going steady, I kind of worked that out already.”

“It’s not,” said Elsa, even as Belle bit back a smile. She took a deep breath, and began to pull off one of her gloves.

“Uh, Elsa?” Anna sounded more confused than ever.

“Just watch,” said Elsa, and reached out to touch the glass of water. In an instant the water inside it was frozen solid.

“What – wait – did you just–” Anna gave up on speaking for a moment, instead reaching out to touch the frozen glass, staring incredulously. “ _How_ did you _do_ that?” Anna marvelled. She didn’t seem afraid, only marvelling.

“I’ve always been able to do it,” said Elsa, with a feeling of cautious hope. “Anything I touch, freezes.”

“That’s amazing!” Anna gushed. “Can you freeze something else? Does it have to be water, or –”

Elsa picked up a ruler off her desk, and with a thought encased it in ice.

“ _So cool!_ ” Anna exclaimed. “Can I touch it?”

“Go ahead,” Elsa said with a smile, and held out the ruler, careful not to let their hands touch as Anna felt the layer of ice surrounding it.

“So if you’ve always been able to do this, do Mom and Dad know?” Anna asked.

Elsa felt her face fall, and saw Belle send her a concerned look.

“They know,” Elsa said heavily. “It’s why I wasn’t allowed to mix with other kids.”

“You – what?” Anna blurted. Her forehead creased. “Wait, you weren’t _allowed?_ I thought you just didn’t like people.”

Elsa shook her head, and bit her lip.

“I–” The words didn’t want to come, but Elsa forced them out. “When we were little, I–”

“You what?” Anna watched her with a curious expression.

“I accidentally sent you into a coma,” Elsa blurted. “You were out of it for a week. After that I was terrified I’d hurt you, and so were Mom and Dad. So it seemed better for everyone if I avoided other people, including you.”

For a long moment, Anna just stared at her. Then:

“That’s _bullshit!”_ Anna exclaimed indignantly. “You weren’t allowed to deal with people at _all_ because you had an _accident?”_

“I almost killed you!”

“That’s no excuse for making you live the rest of your life afraid!” Anna countered, looking genuinely angry. “All this time, your problems have been Mom and Dad’s fault? All the years you wouldn’t even talk to me, was because of _them?_ ”

“Not just them,” Elsa pointed out, because it wasn’t her parents fault; it was hers. “I was afraid even without their input.”

“But they should have encouraged you to be with people and to learn to control your powers, not made you hide away by yourself!” Anna cried out in frustration. “Oh my God! I can’t believe they did that! No wonder they didn’t want you to see a therapist!”

“They what?” Elsa blinked.

Anna flapped a distracted hand at her.

“I suggested you should see a therapist about your anxiety issues, but they shot me down, we can talk about it later. I’m too busy feeling angry at Mom and Dad right now.”

The question was hard to ask, but Elsa asked it anyway.

“You’re not mad at me?”

Anna looked at her wide-eyed.

“God no!” she said. “Of course not! Elsa, you were just doing what Mom and Dad taught you to do!”

“But I hurt you,” Elsa said.

“It was an accident, right?” Anna raised her eyebrows. Elsa reluctantly nodded. “Then it wasn’t your fault, okay? You didn’t mean to do it. Besides, look at me, I’m fine.”

“And I’m glad of it every single day,” said Elsa fervently.

“Oh, Elsa,” said Anna, looking touched. “Come here, come on –”

Elsa wasn’t expecting the enthusiastic hug, or to be squeezed so tightly. But it was nice, all the same.

“I don’t blame you,” Anna said, taking a step back so that she could meet Elsa’s eyes. “And I’d like us to try and be friends again, like when we were little.”

Elsa gave a shaky smile,  blinking away the tears at the edges of her vision.

“I’d like that too,” she said honestly.

There was an awkward silence, where neither of them knew what to say.

“Do you… want to watch a movie?” Elsa tried.

“Yes!” Anna leapt on the idea. “I’d love to watch a movie! That sounds great!”

Elsa turned her head to look at her girlfriend.

“Belle?” Her voice came out a little pleading.

“I’d love to watch a movie with you both,” said Belle.

“Cool,” said Anna, beaming. “Then let’s go do that.”

“Yes,” said Elsa softly. “Let’s go watch a movie.”

**Author's Note:**

> Part of me kinda wants to write an extra installment in this series set years later in the Marvel universe with superhero Elsa, lol.


End file.
